CARDIFFREMEMBERED How Echo snapper got Lloyd George to pose for cameras

SOME years ago now, I interviewed Harry Ferris who was in charge of the process department at Western Mail & Echo Ltd for a book I was compiling called Cardiff Voices published in 2000 and reprinted with additions quite recently as Voices of Cardiff by The History Press.

This is what Harry had to say about the time he went to Llandridod Wells with photographer Harvey Harris...

“Harvey Harris was, to my mind, the doyen of photographers at the Western Mail & Echo when I started work in the process department.’

“One day he asked me what I was doing on Saturday and I told him I wasn’t doing anything. ‘Right,’ he said, you can come with me to see Lloyd George; he’s in Llandridod Wells.’

“It was a terrible day and when we got there it was pouring with rain. I’ll always remember,I carried his camera bag.

“There were all these London photographers there and when one of them saw Harvey he said, ‘Thank God, here’s Harvey’.

“Harvey said, ‘What’s the matter?’’ and one of them told him, ‘He won’t come out.’ Harvey said: ‘Leave it to me.’

“There was a police inspector there and he told Harvey that he couldn’t go in the house. Harvey told him to tell Lloyd George that Harvey Harris wanted to see him. Well, the police inspector came running back and told Harvey he could go in. So Harvey knocked on the door and a gruff voice said: ‘Come in.’ We went in and there sitting at a table was Lloyd George.

“He was absolutely mad; I can see him now. He said to Harvey, ‘You can clear off, I’m not doing any photographs. I’m not doing anything.’